Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) acted within its legal powers when it restricted access to the Osun State Government’s statutory allocation account.
Falana, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said the anti-graft agency could place a Post No Debit (PND) restriction on accounts belonging to federal, state or local governments for up to 72 hours before seeking judicial approval to continue the action.
He explained that decisions by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court had affirmed the authority of anti-corruption agencies to investigate government finances and impose temporary restrictions where necessary.
“Under the law, the EFCC has the power to freeze the account of the Federal Government or of any state or local government in Nigeria,” Falana said.
The lawyer noted that the EFCC’s action in Osun followed an application before the Federal High Court, which granted an order based on information presented by the commission.
He said the state government had taken the appropriate legal step by challenging the validity of the order rather than focusing only on the timing of the restriction.
Falana cited previous court decisions, including a case involving the Benue State Government and the EFCC. He said although a Federal High Court ruled in 2019 that the commission lacked authority to freeze Benue’s account and awarded damages against the agency, the decision was later overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2022.
According to him, the appellate court upheld the EFCC’s power to impose temporary restrictions pending the acquisition of a court order.
He also referred to a 2024 Supreme Court judgment involving the Kogi State Government and other states, saying the apex court affirmed the powers of the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to investigate financial activities involving public funds.
Falana said any attempt to change the current legal framework should be pursued through the National Assembly, adding that the law, as it currently stands, allows the EFCC to investigate and restrict accounts when necessary.
He cautioned against creating a situation where anti-corruption agencies would be expected to halt investigations because an election was approaching, warning that such a precedent could expose public funds to abuse during election periods.
The EFCC had said the restriction on the Osun account was linked to an investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving about ₦11bn in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds.
The commission said the action followed the discovery of what it described as suspicious transactions from the account beginning on 2 August.
President Bola Tinubu later directed the EFCC to seek the lifting of the restriction through the court before 15 August, when the Osun governorship election is scheduled to take place.
